5 Things I’ve learned in the last 5 months…

Ok. So. As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, I’ve been gone a while. Five months, to be almost exact. I had every intention of posting all the time while I was on the road over summer, but by the time I got home from events the last thing I wanted to do was sit down and recap them all when I could be spending precious time recharging and hanging out with my husband. I spent 12 nights total at home in my own bed between Christmas and Vegas (End of April?) and then only two weeks at home before going to Dunedin to spend a few weeks with my family, and then back to Auckland for another fortnight…which brings us to today. Right now. As I pack my suitcase to go home to Dunedin again.

My work calendar for Feb – May – Notice all the little blue dots? They were jobs

Now, by no means am I complaining – I am thrilled that my business has picked up to this point, and I know there are people out there who work harder than I do and cope just fine, but it has been a tough few months mentally as well as geographically, and I have worked my ass off to ensure that I still love what I do. I guess the point of this post is basically a bit of reflection, and some things I’ve learnt about life in the fast lane…. or more accurately the ‘incredibly fast lane that just kind of goes near enough to my house that I can wave at it as I go past’

So, without further ado, my top 5 tips for coping with being a busy boss lady!

1. Always always take breaks.

The thing about being self-employed is that people think you can take holidays whenever you like. Sometimes, yeah, that is the case, but more often than not people fall into the trap that I am constantly teetering over the edge of – If you aren’t working, you aren’t earning, so you find yourself working as much as humanly possible just in case there are no more jobs after this one.
I turned down some work this weekend just gone (Queen’s Birthday weekend!) so that I could have a holiday with my husband. It was the first time since Christmas that we’d spent a weekend together, let alone together away from home, so this was a big deal. The weather was dreadful, but I had an amazing time away playing cards and hanging out where there was no cellphone reception. I got a hideous cold and have spent the whole of the last week in bed as a result, but I’d do it all over again. Which brings me to my next point….

Oh the serenity!

2. Don’t be afraid to say no

You don’t have to run yourself ragged just to keep people happy. In the last year I have had to learn to say no, and I credit my business partner / co-boss lady of the Beauty School Dropouts with helping me to get better at that. Mon has a proper, 60-hour-a-week job on top of BSD stuff, so she really values her time off and will not let people guilt her into staying later or opening earlier, or paying less than what we are worth. It’s honestly inspiring watching her tell people we are fully booked, and that they’ll just have to come earlier next time. Almost worth turning up late in the day to see it.

Miss Monique Sweet – Hairdryer weilding shutter-downer of queues

3. Self-Care is so much more important than you know…

I am a hairdresser and makeup artist, but I am regularly a hot mess. That’s a fact of life that I’ve come to terms with, but taking time to make myself feel a little more put-together definitely helps. I take any opportunity I can to get massages, or get my lashes or nails done, and it is BLISS. Having someone else pamper me for a change reminds me why what I do is so important – being able to give other women an opportunity to relax and be taken care of is so rewarding, even if people might see it as being a little superficial.

Fancy as Fuck!

4. Surround yourself with people who support you

Busy boss ladies don’t have time for friends who make them feel bad, it’s a fact of life – If someone makes it hard for me to do what I do AND maintain a relationship with them, then they aren’t worth my time. My group of friends are amazing – they don’t expect me to work for free, they respect what my business means to me, and they have learnt that while scheduling is important, so is flexibility. If I have a cancellation then of course I will call them to see if they want to catch up, but they won’t be mad if I can’t do dinner with two days notice on a weekend. We find other ways to keep in touch without having to set aside time to sit down and chat, and they will recommend me to anyone looking for someone with my skill set. Find people that can be that for you, and that you can support in return.

Like these guys – Only two of us even live in the same city, so they don’t care that I’m never around!

5. HAVE FUN!

I know, I know, it’s a cop-out, but it is so so important to keep finding joy in what you do. There are always going to be times where you don’t love everything about the job you are doing, and that’s normal, but if you don’t love anything about it anymore then you need to figure out why, and either fix it or stop. There is no way to convince yourself to put your all into doing a job you don’t love, and when you’re working for yourself it really is all or nothing. Take some time to sit back and reevaluate – what has changed, and what needs to change for you to fall back in love with your job? If you can’t think of anything, then you need to decide what you want to be doing instead, because the most important part of being a busy boss lady is that you are happy.

One of my favourite parts of my job is getting to work on shoots like this one, for example!

So there you go – 5 things I’ve learned in 5 months! Hopefully this signifies a return to a more regular blogging schedule, but who knows what the next few months hold!

Totally agree Fran – so important to look after yourself and enjoy your life – thats why we do what we do.
i’m glad I can call you friend and your support over the last year, especially has been invaluable. We need to cherish ourselves and our partners and friends